Playing It Safe(47)

“DAD!” I yell into the phone. People walking by on the sidewalk stop and stare as I compose myself quickly. “I’ll call her tomorrow. I promise, okay? I really have to go though.”

“Oh, am I keeping you from something more important than bedroom linens?” he says sarcastically. “Welcome to my world.”

“I said I’ll call her tomorrow, but I really do have to go. I have an appointment that I’m going to be late for.” I confirm this by lifting my wrist to double-check the time. Three minutes to one o’clock.

“Fine, go on then,” he says in a huff. “I’ll let her know to expect your call tomorrow. But you know what would be better? If you stopped by the house instead.”

“Don’t push your luck, Dad.”

He laughs through his good-bye and hangs up. I’m left to wonder if my parents may need to start thinking about separate living quarters when I hear Sarah’s voice behind me.

“Are you coming in finally?” she asks all bubbly.

“I was just finishing up with a last-minute phone call. Is Alex ready for me?”

She does a wiggle of her eyebrows and holds the door open farther. “Are you kidding me?” she groans. “He’s been asking me if you’re here every two minutes for the past half hour.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. He said to tell you to go straight to his office as soon as you arrived.”

“Okay, thanks.”

My high heels click across the hardwood floor as I make my way to Alex’s office. Palms sweating, check. Heart racing, check. Stomach in knots, double check. Of course his is the very last door in the offices of the gallery, too. And to top it all off, it’s closed. Ugh, that means I have to knock and announce myself. I don’t think I can find my voice long enough to do that. But the heavens part for a brief moment when he opens the door, and then he’s standing right in front of me with the most mischievous grin I’ve ever seen.

He’s wearing black pants and a freshly pressed white shirt paired with a simple black silk tie. Trust me, I can tell that it’s silk. His dirty blond hair is slightly unruly today and looks as if he’s just been running his hands through it. A stray lock of hair brushes across his forehead when he bows his head slightly at my arrival and opens the door wide for me to enter his office.

“We should discuss your ground rules first,” he says as I brush past him.

The only thing I have in my arsenal right now is my wry wit and cunning instincts. Bullshit. I don’t know what the hell I’m going to say or do. I’m completely out of my comfort zone here, and when he closes the door behind me, I can tell I’m in for it. Don’t ask me how I know, I just do. Kind of like my spidey senses are kicking into gear. Well, that and the fact that he grabs me by the wrist and swings me around so that my back is against the door.

Alex lets go of me and clicks the lock into place while scrutinizing my face. He slowly brings his hands up and slides my sunglasses off and tucks them into my purse, which he also takes in his hands. He lowers it to the ground by our feet and moves his eyes away from me for a second to do so. I take the opportunity to try and smoothly move out of this position, only to find myself turned swiftly in his arms so that I’m now facing the door. And to be honest, I’m really not putting up much resistance. I really enjoy being manhandled by him. Yeah, I’m kind of surprised by that too, seeing as how I’m usually the one in charge.

For a few seconds neither of us moves an inch. Then he steps in closer until his body is flush against my backside. I feel his arousal pressing against me, and even though I don’t do backdoor action, it’s still a huge turn-on.

“As I was saying … your ground rules.” He places his hands on my shoulders and then runs them down my arms. “I’m of the opinion that they’re a waste of our time at this point because there are far too many things I want to do to you. And after last night, there is no f*cking way that I can stand to be away from you for one more moment.”

Alex takes my hands in his and raises them until my palms are resting on the door slightly above my head. When he lets go, he swipes my hair to the side and holds it in place with one hand while the other skims down the side of my body and eventually stops at my hip. He leans in closer so that his lips graze my ear, and I close my eyes, relishing the contact.

His breath is warm and his voice gravelly when he finally speaks. “Do you want me to stop?”


“I …”

“Julia,” he says seductively while his hand trails lower, sending shivers down my spine. He grabs a fistful of my skirt. “It’s an easy question.” He pauses and kisses me below my earlobe. “Yes …” Another kiss, this time on my neck. “Or no.” He punctuates the no with a thrust against my ass.

I don’t think I’ve ever been this aroused in my life. He hasn’t technically done one thing to me, yet I’m in his control. Under his thumb. Damn the Rolling Stones and finally figuring out what the hell that song is really about. Christ, why am I thinking about a freaking song that is probably more than twice as old as I am when I’m about to get nailed by Alex? Focus, Julia!

“No,” I murmur in between ragged breaths that are now coming in a rush.

Come on, did you really think I’d be able to hold up much longer? Me neither.